The invention relates generally to power circuits and deals more particularly with circuitry to test a battery which backs-up a main power source.
In critical applications requiring electrical power, a battery may be provided to back-up a main power source in the event that the main power source fails. For such applications it is important to periodically test the battery to ensure that the battery can still provide the rated power if needed. To provide the test, it was known to periodically connect the battery to a dummy load and check that the battery can supply the rated current and voltage for a predetermined time interval. (Then the battery is recharged from the main power source.) However, this approach requires a dummy load and dissipates extra power during the test.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide circuitry to test a back-up battery without requiring a dummy load or dissipating extra power during the test.